Investing in culture and communities

Investing in culture and communitiesThe social return on investing in work-based learning at the Museum of East Anglian Life

Why SROI?

“SROI is a complex and revealing methodology

which avoids the imprecision of qualitative

and blandness of quantitative evaluation”

Tony Butler

SROI analysis

SROI engages people in rigorous analysis of impact and knock on effects

Our stakeholdersThe scope and the people affected by our project

The story of changeWhat we invest, what we do and changes that result

The evidenceHow we know things have changed and the results

Our impactValuing results and taking off what we can’t take credit for

Our social return on investmentCalculations

Verifying, reporting and improvingUsing what we’ve learnt

Work- based learning 8 week course for around 50 people a year who are long term unemployed

Our scope

The scope and the people affected by our project

Our WBL programme has significant effect on:• Participants• Their families in the widest sense• The state and community• Museum staff and volunteers

The story of change

What we invest, what we do and the changes that result

• We invest £31K of funding plus £3K of volunteering

• But further investment of cultural heritage is critical too

• Participants and families invest a great deal of emotional energy

“where else could you work on a

steam engine and build a kiln?”

partner agency

The story of change

What we invest, what we do and the changes that result

The story of change

What we invest, what we do and the changes that result

Participants saw improvements in:• Progression towards work• Confidence and hope for the

future• Relationships

• Happiness...

“we see the difference in the person - much

more work ready, bags more

confidence, have made friends”

partner agency

The story of change

What we invest, what we do and the changes that result

But we have wider influence too:• Families see improvements in

family relationships • The state and community see

savings in welfare payments More effective and efficient

local delivery• Museum staff and volunteers

improve their understanding of disadvantaged people

The story of change Key question:

How to value and encourage happiness and

emotional investment

We used the four stages of learning model

Unconscious undeveloped

Conscious undeveloped

Unconscious developed

Conscious developed

The evidence

How we know things have changed and the results we see

Amjed’s experience

8 years of isolation till

referred100%

attendance

Gaining qualifications, leading a team

A regular job with CMHT

The evidence

How we know things have changed and the results we see

The evidence

How we know things have changed and the results we see

Participants’ progress is not linear but has significant steps• When participants begin to care,

they initially take up more services and support

• The most significant part of progressing towards employment is getting a job

The evidence Key service need:

Approaches to progression delivered jointly with partners

The evidence

How we know things have changed and the results we see

37 progressed. As you would expect from work-based learning:• 90% progressed towards work –

average of 38%• 70% had more confidence and

hope for the future – average 35%

• 50% improved their relationships – average 30%

Say, one and a half steps of four

The evidence

How we know things have changed and the results we see

Other results showed:• 5 out of 7 families see

improvements with a 50% ‘score’• The state and community see

significant welfare savings, even taking into account the above

• Creating more efficient and effective local service delivery offers tremendous scope

• Museum staff and volunteers see improvements, but limited

Our impact

Taking off what we can’t take credit for and valuing results

• We researched what would have happened anyway (deadweight)

• We asked participants how much was down to MEAL (attribution)

• We used this evidence to attribute our impact

“finding placements has been hard – too

academic. The service at MEAL is so unique, it serves our clients well”

partner agency

Our impact

Taking off a proportion if we just transferred the problem

We estimate that almost all our outcomes are ‘new’ with almost no displacement effect

Progression towards work however does see some displacement.

Our impact

Valuing results

We valued our participants’ outcomes using these financial proxies• Value of work over benefit• Value of counselling and work

placement• Value of a social life and family

therapy

Our impact

Valuing results

We valued our wider outcomes using these financial proxies• Family relationships with family

therapy plus the cost of bringing up a child

• State and community through welfare payments and the value/cost of local networking

• Museum and volunteer learning through diversity awareness training

Our impact

Valuing results

Welfare savings

-£10,000

-£8,000

-£6,000

-£4,000

-£2,000

£0

£2,000

Our impact

Adjusted results

Outcome Adjusted results

Proxy value

Progression towards the world of work

38% x 37 = 14, adjusted to 9 after attribution

Increased yearly income from having a job over benefits £8,340

Increased confidence and hope for the future

35% x 37 = 13, adjusted to 7 after attribution

Value of counselling £649, + value of work experience £1,139

Development of positive relationships

30% of 37 = 11, adjusted to 5 after attribution

Cost of social life £1,359 + family counselling £333

Better family life 54% of 48 = 26, adjusted to 4 after deadweight and attribution

Cost of family counselling £333 + part cost of bringing up a child £4,805

Welfare payment savings 37 results, adjusted to 20 after attribution and displacement

Higher service take up then tax contributions at average £2,891 – nb real value

More effective and efficient local service delivery

92% of 4 = 4, with no adjustment

Local network membership £25 + admin savings of £439

Confidence in dealing with disadvantaged people

40% of 10 = 4, adjusted to 3 after deadweight

Cost of diversity awareness training at £85

Our impact Key opportunity:

Hidden value of family outcomes

Our impact

How long our impact lasts

Whilst the outcomes we achieved are long-lasting we expect other factors to soon take over from MEAL’s influence:We consciously avoid dependency

Our SROI

Calculating our return

• Our true investment is £53K including museum costs

• Our first year of value is £180K with more value in subsequent years

For every £1 invested we gain over £4 of social value

Verifying, reporting and improving

Using what we’ve learnt

What we’ve learnt about SROI• Face to face feedback is

invaluable• Work it through, but don’t over-

work it• An independent partner ensures

rigour and persistence

Verifying, reporting and improving

Using what we’ve learnt

What we’ve learnt about WBL• Key question: How to value and

encourage happiness and emotional investment

• Key need: Joint local approaches to progression

• Key opportunity: Hidden value of family outcomes

• Key investment: In cultural heritage